


Knight of Wands - Walter Peck

by TouchingOldMagic



Category: Ghostbusters (Comics), Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Peck being Peck, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, babysitting nerds is her day job, janine puts up with a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25873426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TouchingOldMagic/pseuds/TouchingOldMagic
Summary: Takes place sometime after IDW's Ghostbusters International storyline. Walter Peck shows up at the office to complain, per usual.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Knight of Wands - Walter Peck

**Author's Note:**

> For a while I've wanted to do a series of fics that are vignettes, in which each scene or character represents a card in a standard tarot deck. I'm not sure how many I will be able to get through (a tarot deck has 78 cards!) but I've decided to give it a shot. I'll include descriptions of what each card represents, so you can see why I chose that card in each instance.
> 
> Knight of Wands - The Knight of Wands represents someone who is charismatic and energetic, but prone to rushing in without thinking things through. A big 'idea man' who will leap at the chance for new ventures and projects but isn't the most stable, emotionally.

A shadow fell over Janine Melnitz's desk. She cocked an eyebrow but didn't look up until she had finished signing off on the last of a stack of field reports. Then, unhurriedly, she set down her pen and lifted her eyes.

Walter Peck stood before her desk, dark suit pressed and red tie tight as a noose around his neck, as usual. And as usual, his expression was one of barely restrained contempt for the various ineptitudes of the world. "All I ask," he ground out between clenched teeth, without preamble. "ALL I ever ask is for a LITTLE forethought. If they could pause for just one minute before charging in like--like some prepubescent's idea of a modern day cowboy, then maybe we could end at least one situation without thousands of dollars in property damage! I've been on one of these 'busts' now and I know for a fact we can actually resolve issues without breaking everything!"

Whether subconscious or otherwise, Peck had a tendency to lean forward as his rants collected steam. By the time he paused for breath, he was looming over Janine's desk. Instead of retreating from this breach of her personal space, she leaned forward as well, until their faces were inches apart. And if she had to tilt her neck back a bit to meet the tall man's eyes, she didn't let that slow her down at all.

"From what _I_ heard," she snapped back at him with just as much heat, " _your_ bust ended with someone's front lawn on fire and two of our employees almost immolated!"

Peck rolled his eyes, but either her stance or her retort had him easing back on his heels. Maybe he hadn't known she had been completely debriefed on what had gone on during the Ireland bust. "Oh please," he finally scoffed. "The rental car company didn't even charge us a cleaning fee when we returned the car."

Janine sighed and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose to stave off the headache that was threatening to manifest. It would be crass for her to point out that the only reason they hadn't paid property damage on the Ireland bust was due to the client being Peck's family friend. And said family friend had passed away immediately afterward.

Janine wouldn't stoop so low as to bring that up to win an argument, but she would be tempted if Peck didn't rein himself in.

"Is there an actual reason you're here, other than to make complaints in person that you usually handle over the phone?" she growled.

Peck cleared his throat and straightened his jacket with a tug at his lapels. "Yes. Your employers' latest _shenanigans_ were not my initial reason for this trip." He reached into his jacket and produced a slim envelope from an inner pocket. A single sheet of crisply folded paper was removed and set down on Janine's desk. "This is."

She scanned the words quickly, then looked up at Peck in surprise. Then she looked down to read the brief document again. "Is this for real?"

The bureaucrat's smirk of self-satisfaction told her more than his reply. "Yes. As the initial party who negotiated the deal between Erland Vinter and Ghostbusters, Inc., I've been the one speaking with Mr. Vinter's estate regarding compensation for what has transpired since he approached your company. This is their initial offer."

Despite herself, Janine let out a short whistle. "Well, we're going to be in the black this quarter."

Peck held up a hand. "Miss Melnitz, this is an _initial_ offer. Negotiating a final sum is going to take some time." He paused, his expression becoming somewhat more subdued. "One of your employees died in this venture. While it's true she was acting of her own accord, no one could claim Mr. Vinter wasn't the instigator of the situation--"

"Dr. Stantz is pretty sure he was possessed, in the park at least," Janine cut in.

He gave her a heavy glare for derailing his explanation. "Regardless. With Mr. Vinter's demise, his estate is very interested in keeping his... shall we say, more esoteric hobbies out of the limelight. I believe negotiations will go well for us."

It was decent of Peck, she had to admit, to keep his patented sneer out of his voice when talking about Jenny. (He hadn't yet been told she was still hanging around in spectral form.) Finally Janine said, "So what does PCOC get out of this?"

"Fifteen percent."

"Of course."

Peck sighed impatiently. "I'm required by law to inform you of the offer. But, as I said, it would be in all of our best interests' if I be allowed to continue the negotiations."

Now Janine understood the reason for Peck's visit. He thought the guys were going to jump at the first offering of a payout, like an untrained dog left alone with a steak dinner. As if Dr. Venkman didn't practically have a PhD in financial negotiation, himself.

It would have been easy--and, to be honest, fun--to bait the man all afternoon, but Janine had things to do before the end of the day. "I'll take care of it," she declared briskly, sliding the paper into her desk drawer, out of sight.

"You will." Peck raised a dubious eyebrow, his flat voice betraying his lack of confidence in her abilities.

She stood up from her desk in order to usher him out; he had taken up more than enough of her time. "Yeah, I'll let them know. You just go back to doing what you were doing. Keep me updated on the offers." She couldn't believe she was volunteering for yet another duty that wasn't part of her job description, but it was easier than dealing with the pissing contest that would result if Peck had to pass the offers to Dr. Venkman.

As they walked to the doors, she could see a layer of tension ease from Peck's face upon realizing he wasn't going to have to fight anyone on this. "That is... appreciated, Miss Melnitz." He glanced back at her before he grabbed the door handle. "And if you would remind them about how little effort it takes to perhaps access a situation once in a while, before charging in blindly with guns blazing--"

Janine snorted, but her lips curled upward in an amused smile. "Don't push your luck."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the Sad Ghost Boys Club for helping me think about Peck's character!


End file.
